Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey recruit Glendale Riders for Christmas Concert

The Glendale Riders is made up of lead vocalist Steve Schwegel, who also plays guitar; lead guitarist Jeff Bensman and his son, Jared Bensman, on fiddle; Jeff’s brother, Jim Bensman, on drums; keyboardist John Hand; and, bassist Chris Hammond. Band members have played together for more than 10 years.

Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey booked the Glendale Riders for the club’s annual Rotary Christmas Concert, which is a fundraiser for the club’s scholarship program. The Alton-Godfrey Rotary annually awards up to $10,000 a year to students attending among Alton High School; Marquette Catholic High School; Mississippi Valley Christian School; and, Lewis and Clark Community College.

“We have that commitment to do these scholarships each year,” Rotary Christmas Concert committee member Mike Fitzgerald said. “We work to come up with innovative ways to continue to support this scholarship program.”

This year includes the Glendale Riders for the Alton-Godfrey Rotary’s first reserved-seating concert since it started its scholarship fundraising Christmas concerts about six years ago. Typically, the club booked groups from the community, churches and choirs, including a handbell choir and a barbershop quartet, which Fitzgerald explained rarely sold out the venue, thus no need for reserved seating.

“I’m just hoping it sells out and we have a good turn-out for it,” Glendale Riders’ lead vocalist Steve Schwegel said. “It’s more of a traditional classic country concert. It gives people opportunity to hear good country music in a theater-type setting, not a bar setting.”

The band will play music from George Jones, George Strait, Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell to name a few, as well as Christmas songs and sing-a-longs, such as “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “Jingle Bells.” The concert starts at 3 p.m. Sunday at LCCC’s Hatheway Cultural Center in Godfrey. Ushers will be available to take guests to their seats.

“By far, I’m the least talented person in this group,” said Schwegel, who also plays guitar for the philanthropic-prone band. “These guys are absolutely wonderful musicians, but also wonderful harmony singers. They have a very rich sound. It’s fantastic when they are singing together.”

Glendale Riders’ members have played together for more than 10 years.

“Not many local bands like this can last that long,” Schwegel noted. “Somewhere along the line we all became close friends and then became like family.”

Schwegel, born and raised in Alton, now lives outside Bunker Hill. Glendale Riders also include lead guitarist Jeff Bensman and his son Jared Bensman, now 22, who joined the band at age 12, on fiddle, both of Alton; Jeff’s brother, Jim Bensman, of Hannibal, Missouri, on drums; keyboardist John Hand, of Alton; and, bassist Chris Hammond, of Carlinville.

From this year’s “Students of the Month,” for which Alton-Godfrey Rotarians select two high school seniors a month September through May, those Rotarians will choose the “Student of the Year” to receive the club’s $6,000 scholarship, disbursed at $1,500 for four years. Last year’s recipient, AHS graduate Adam Kane, now attends University of Alabama.

“Every year four people — a college freshman, sophomore, junior and senior — are receiving consistent, sustainable scholarship, per year, per student,” Fitzgerald explained.

Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey also annually awards two $1,500 scholarships to students enrolled in a trade program, such as building trades or automotive, at LCCC. Those students can be from anywhere within the community college’s district.

Additionally, the club awards a small scholarship, up to $400, to an AHS senior who is a member of the school’s Interact club, which is the high school version of Rotary, a global network of 1.2 million people in clubs all over the world. Interact clubs bring together young people, ages 12 through 18, in the same way Rotary brings together adults, to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of “Service Above Self,” the Rotary International motto.

The motto is based on Rotary’s guiding principles, which have been the organization’s foundation for 110-plus years: service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership.

AHS’ Interact step up to the plate each year in sponsoring the high school’s St. Baldrick’s Foundation event, for which students allow their heads shaven to raise money for the foundation and its childhood cancer research grants.

“Interact raised for the past several years well over $10,000 a year for St. Baldrick’s,” Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey President Ron Mayhew recalled. “Many girls shaved their heads.”

Alton-Godfrey Rotarians give the annual scholarships to recipients during the Student of the Year Banquet, held the first Monday in June.

“A committee looks at all the Students of the Month. Then it comes down to the one with the best grades, community service, a number of factors,” explained Fitzgerald, of Godfrey, who has been a member of the Rotary club for 33 years; the club has awarded scholarships for about 15 years.

Mayhew, of Alton, became a Rotarian 17 years ago, once he retired in 2000 from teaching in the Alton school district for 35 years.

Rotary Club of Alton-Godfrey meets at 6 p.m. every Monday at Gentelin’s on Broadway, 122 E. Broadway, Alton. Visit www.altongodfreyrotary.org about becoming a Rotarian and for more information.

The Glendale Riders is made up of lead vocalist Steve Schwegel, who also plays guitar; lead guitarist Jeff Bensman and his son, Jared Bensman, on fiddle; Jeff’s brother, Jim Bensman, on drums; keyboardist John Hand; and, bassist Chris Hammond. Band members have played together for more than 10 years.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_gr.jpgThe Glendale Riders is made up of lead vocalist Steve Schwegel, who also plays guitar; lead guitarist Jeff Bensman and his son, Jared Bensman, on fiddle; Jeff’s brother, Jim Bensman, on drums; keyboardist John Hand; and, bassist Chris Hammond. Band members have played together for more than 10 years. For The Telegraph